Dileep, Dhyan Sreenivasan’s fun thriller will also have a powerful female lead like Rorschach: Nissam Basheer

A lot of eyebrows were raised when Rorschach and Kettyolaanu Ente Malakha director Nissam Basheer had announced that he will next be teaming up with Malayalam actor Dileep for his next. Nissam is also aware that his decision to team up with the actor, who is one of the accused in the actress assault case, being divisive.

“There are people who have expressed their displeasure at this,” the director tells OTTplay, in an exclusive chat. That said, the director reveals that he has decided to “take it up as a challenge”. “We had begun discussions with Dileepettan after Rorschach. We thought he was the most apt for the role; it’s also been a while since we saw him in a good role,” he says.

Also read: Rorschach movie review: Mammootty’s slick psychological revenge thriller makes for an engaging experience 

On the movie, which is scripted by Rorschach and Iblis writer Sameer Abdul, the director says, “We are trying to make a fun thriller. We are always trying to do movies that have some interesting and risky elements. So, we only know these films work only when they release in theatres and become a hit. This movie also has those aspects like my previous films.”

Considering that Nissam’s previous films have had a strong female protagonists and have been a stark contrast to Dileep’s movies that have drawn flak for their misogynistic content, ask Nissam about the difference in ideologies between the two and he says, “This film also has a powerful woman character and he was okay with it. When we narrated the script, it worked for him.”

Also read: Dileep: OTTs cannot be ignored as they can create a global market for our films 

Apart from Dileep, the film also has Dhyan Sreenivasan, Suraj Venjaramoodu and Mamitha Baiju in pivotal roles. The team is planning to begin the shoot of the movie, which will be filmed entirely in Kerala, in November.

After Rorschach that featured Mammootty in the lead, did Nissam ever think of doing a bigger project? “Not really,” he says. “We look at ideas, more than the scope or scale of the project. The ideas have to be convincing to us for us to begin work. This film is based on an idea we had been working on for some time. It’s a different genre; you can’t clearly categorise it as a thriller or a comedy or a family movie.

Meanwhile, Dileep's first theatrical release post pandemic, Voice of Sathyanathan, is gearing up to hit theatres on July 28. The actor has also completed the shoot of Arun Gopy's Bandra and Udal filmmaker Ratheesh Reghunandan's directorial.